What Do Best Buy, UPS, and Nike Have In Common?

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I’ve been writing so many blogs about China over the past few months that today I went ahead and created a new “China” category. It’s impossible to keep up on all the China-related business globalization news, but here are a few items that recently caught my eye…

UPS survey finds China a high priority
UPS put out a press release today citing an executive research study that found that “a remarkable 80% of the executives surveyed say that China will be playing an important role in their company’s growth objectives within the next three years.”

Nike and Toyota stumble in China
This Reveries article highlights companies that have stumbled when entering China…

Nike’s not alone on this particular learning curve, though. The Chinese don’t care much for Colonel Sanders, either. And Toyota blew it with one ad in which their Land Cruiser was “towing what appeared to be a Chinese military truck, and other featuring stone lions, a traditional symbol of power in China, bowing down to Toyota’s Prado GX. Not surprisingly, some of China’s 1.3 billion citizens “balked at the perceived insult to their armed forces and at the notion of bowing down to anything — even a car — representing Japan.”

Best Buy entering China
According to the Journal, Best Buy will be testing its first superstores in China…

Best Buy plans to open stores in China, as a way to test and evaluate the Chinese market for consumer electronics and appliances. A spokeswoman wouldn’t say how much the company has earmarked for expansion in China or how many stores the company plans to open.

Lenovo: A view from the top
Here is a great Q&A with a Lonovo board member, Lee Sen Ting. Lenovo is acquring IBM and Ting had this to say about the deal:

“Our strategic acquisition of the IBM brand name and human resources are solid steps that accelerated the internationalization of our company.”

Chinese firms could enhance their brand positions considerably with the right strategic partners, and the hiring of Western talent would offer significant insights into international corporate culture and governance.